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(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J.P.0LBAL. CASH REGISTER.

Patented June 19,1894.

(No Model.) -3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. P. CLEAL.

CASH REGISTER. No. 521,638. Patented June 19, 1894.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3. VJ. P. CLEAL.

CASH REGISTER.

(No Model.)

No. 521,638. Patented June 19, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH P. OLEAL, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTERCOMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CASH-REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 521,638, dated51111619, 1894.

Application filed April 14, 1893. Renewed April 30, 1894. Serial No.509.592, (No model.)

le @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. CLEAL, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county 0f Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cash-Registers, ofwhich the followingis a description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of machines in which the record orregister of the values of the operated keys is preserved by means of aseries of counters, preferably in the form of balls, which are movedfrom a supply-compartment to a registering-compartment by the operationof the machine, and my invention has for its object the improvement ofthe construction of this class of machines whereby fraudulentmanipulation of them is more effectually prevented. Its novelty will behereinafter set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a side elevation of such amachine, with the casing removed; Fig. 2 a top view looking at themachine in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l; Fig. 3 a verticalsection Fig. 4 a detail view of the rear side of the grooved guideplateat the rear of the machine; and Fig. 5 a sectional detail of the groovedregistering board.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts inall the ligures.

The operating keys of the machine consist of levers A hung upon afulcrum rod B and provided upon their front ends with the usual numberedfinger-buttons C. The rear upturned ends D of these key-levers areprovided at their upper ends with cups or pockets E which it in channelsF upon the rear side of the rear frame-plate E of the machine and bywhich the rear ends of the keys are guided in their vertical movements,Fig. a. Extending from front to rear of the machine is a series ofinclined tubes G, open at both ends, and one overlying each of the keylevers A. These are the supply-compartments in which are kept the supplyof counters I-I. Located above these tubes G, and forming substantiallythe entire top of the machine, is a board or plate I, inclined towardthe front of the machine, and provided with a series of longitudinalgrooves J, one immediately over and corresponding with each of thesupply tubesG. This grooved board I is covered by a glass plate K,located at such distance above the board as to permit free travel of theballs H in the grooves and at the same time prevent their beingdisplaced from their respective grooves, each groove, with the overlyingglass plate, thus forming adistinct receptacle. The supply-tubes Gcommunicate with the respective groovesJ by the channels F upon the rearframe-plate F and openings L in said plate at the upper ends of saidchannels and co-incident with the grooves J in the board I. As seen inFig. 3 the rearmost ball Hin each of the supply-tubes G normally restsin the cup E upon the upper end of the corresponding key-lever. When thefront end of the lever is depressed said ball will be carried upward insaid cup, the walls of the channel F preventing its escape therefrom,until the cup is brought opposite the opening L at the upper end of thechannel, whereupon the ball will escape from the cup and roll forward inthe corresponding groove J in the top-board I. The forward edges of thevertical eXtensions D of the key levers are curved in the arc of acircle struck from the fulcrum of the keys, as is also the rear side ofthe plate F having the channels F, so that when any key is operated andthe ball which is in its pocket E is lifted the forward edge of theextension f D of the key prevents the escape of the remaining balls fromthe supply-tube. When the key is released, in the mannerhereinafterdescribed, and returns to normal position, the rearmost ball in thesupply-tube will enter the cup E, ready for the next operation' of thekey.

The grooves J in the board I are assigned different values according tothe respective keys with which they co-operate, and to enable the amountregistered by the balls in each groove to be ascertained without thenecessity of counting the balls, the grooves are preferably providedwith registering numbers, the number opposite the rearmost ball in anygroove indicating the amount registered by the number of balls in saidgroove.

The registering grooves J communicate at IOO their forward ends with theforward ends of the supply-tubes G, but the passage of the balls fromthe grooves to the tubes is normally prevented by pivoted arrestingplates M, one opposite the end of each groove and provided at its rearend with a depending flange against which the balls in the groove rest.By pressing down the front end of any one of these plates and tilting upits rear end tlie balls in the groove will be allowed to escape and willroll down into the corresponding supply-tube G. When the machine iswithin the casing these plates are all locked in the position shown by ahinged bar of the casing, which is itself controlled by a lock whose keymay be kept in the possession of the proprietor, so that the clerk oroperator cannot manipulate the plates M to release the balls from theregistering grooves.

The extensions D of the key-levers are provided on their rear sides withears N to which are pivoted the lower ends of indicator-rods O passedthrough apertures in a guide-plate P and carrying at their upper endsindicating tablets Q bearing numbers corresponding to those upon therespective keys. Each of the key levers A is also provided upon itsunder side, about midway of its length, with a pendent plate R. Theseplates R co-operate with the rear arms S of a series of bellcranksstrung upon a rod T and extending entirely across the machine, onebeneath each key and co-operating with its plate R. A series of springsU connected to the upper ends of the front arms V of the bell-crankstend to rock them forward, but the engagement of their rear arms S withthe plates R upon the keys, when thelatter are in normal position, holdsthem from movement. When any key is operated, and its plate R therebylifted until its lower end clears the upper end of the arm S of itsco-operatin g bell-crank, the spring U connected to such bell-crank willimmediately rock the bell-crank slightly forward, until it engages andrests against a crossbarWof a rocking-frame X hung upon the rod T. Thismovement of the bell-crank carries the upper end of its arm S beneaththe lower end of the plate R of the operated key, and when the latter isreleased it is supported in elevated position by the arm S, and itsconnected indicating tablet Q held exposed to view at the usual windowin the casing of the machine. By means of a lever Y fast at its lowerend to the swinging frame X and projecting at its upper end through anopening in the casing, into position to be grasped by the operator, theframe X may be rocked and the cross-bar W thrown upward to carry back tonormal position all of the bell-cranks which are out of such position,and thereby release all of the operated keys and permit them to returnto normal position. Thismuch of the machine is old, and not of myinvention, but as so constructed the machine has been found defectiveand impracticable as a reliable register, by reason of the fact that theballs H are liable to escape from the registering grooves J, so that aninaccurate registry will be preserved. The openings or notches L in theupper edge of the plate Fare not so deep as the registering grooves J,Fig. 5, and it is intended that the plate F will arrest the balls andprevent their escape from the grooves in case the front end of themachine should be tilted upward by accident or design; but the openingsL must necessarily be of sufcient size to permit the ready passage ofthe balls from the cups E of the operating keys to the grooves, when thekeys are operated, and suoli being the case it has been possible tocause the balls to escape from the grooves through these openings byshaking the machine, if they would not do so by siinply lifting itsfront end. When the balls escaped from the grooves in this manner theywould either drop down inside the casing of the machine, or if the rearend of any key were at the time in elevated position the rearmost ballin the corresponding groove would enter the cup E in said key and whenthe key was released and returned to normal position the ball would becarried downward in the cup and become the rearmost ball in the row inthe supply-tube G. Tn this manner, after the clerk had operated a keyand caused it to lift a ball H and deliver it into the proper groove,lie could, by tilting the front end of the machine upward and perhapsshaking it, cause said ball to roll backward and re-enter the cup E ot'the key, and then release the key and cause it to carry the ball downwith it, thus indicating the value of the operated key to the customerand bystanders but preserving no record of it. My invention is intendedto overcome these defects by providing means for automatically closingthe openings L or rear ends of the registering grooves whenever thefront of the machine is lifted and thereby preventing escape of theballs from the rear ends of the grooves. The means I have providedconsists of a plate Z located transversely across the rear ends of theregistering grooves, beneath the same and immediately in front of theplate F and so supported and actuated that whenever the front end of themachine is lifted the plate Z will be automatically moved into orthrough a suitable slot or passage Z across the grooves J andin front ofthe openings L in the plate F. The plate Z is supported at each end, andintermediately if desired, by forwardly extending arms A which are fastupon a rock-shaft B mounted in suitable bearings C upon the under sideof the board I. Fast upon the right hand end of the rock-shaft B, Fig.l, is a pendent arm D which carries a weight E', the arm D and weight Eof course being within the casing of the machine, where they areinaccessible and hidden from view. It will be seen that whenever thefront end of the machine is tilted upward the weight E will hold therock-shaft B in normal position and prevent its turning with themachine, so that the IOO IIO

downward movement of the rear end of the machine Will cause the plate Zto interpose between the rear ends of the registering grooves J and theopenings L. The operation may perhaps be more readily understood byassuming that when the front end of the machine is tilted upward theWeight E swings rearward (as it may actually do to some extent) andthereby swings the plate Z upward across the grooves.

Instead ot a single plate Z it is evident that a series of separateplates fast upon the rockshaft B, one cofoperating with each of theregistering grooves, may be employed if desired. So, too, the plate Zmay be supported and actuated in other ways Without departing from myinvention, so long as it operates automatically to close the rear endsof the registering grooves and prevent escape of the balls when thefront end of the machine is lifted.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, I claiml. In a machine suchas described, the com bination, with the board or plate having theregistering grooves J, of the automatically operating plate Z normallyout ofthe path of the balls and co-operating with said grooves in themanner described to prevent escape of the balls therefrom when themachineis tilted.

2. In a machine such as described, the combination, with the board orplate having the registering grooves J, of the rock-shaft B', the WeightE connected thereto, and the plate Z carried by said shaft andco-operating with the grooves J in the manner described to preventescape of the balls.

3. The combination of the forwardly-inclined board I provided With theregistering grooves J, the rearwardly-inclined supplytubes G, the plateF provided with the channels F and openings L connecting the tubes G andregistering grooves J, the operating keys A provided With the upwardextensions D having the cups E, the rock-shaft B', the Weight Econnected thereto, and the plate Z carried by the rock-shaft andco-operating with the grooves J in the manner described to preventescape of the balls.

JOSEPH P. CLEAL.

Witnesses:

PEARL N. SIGLER, JOHN M. BUCKLES.

